2.1
Sanjaya said:
Seeing Arjuna thus overwhelmed with grief, his eyes full of tears and his mind stricken with confusion, the Charioteer spoke to him.
2.2
Lord Krishna said:
Dear Arjuna, from where do these impurities of mind arise at such a critical juncture? Such despondency is unworthy of an Aryan who claims to know the higher values of life. It does not lead to greater realms, but to infamy and disgrace.
2.3
Do not indulge in unmanly impotence. It does not befit you. Confront the cowardice in your heart and stand up! You are the terror of your enemies! Act as such!
2.4
Arjuna said, “O Krishna, how can I shoot arrows into Bhishma and Drona, men who are worthy of my worship?
2.5
Better to live in this world as a beggar than to enjoy royal life by killing these noble teachers. Though they yet lust after worldly things, they are my superiors. If I kill them, all future pleasures will be tainted with their blood.
2.6
I do not even know which outcome is better — to conquer them or be conquered by them. If I kill the sons of Dhritarashtra I would not wish to live, yet it is they who stand facing me, eager for battle.
2.7
My mind is conflicted about duty, and weakness has claimed my composure. In this miserable condition I beg you, O Lord, please tell me for certain what is best for my spirit. I am your disciple and I am surrendered to you. Please instruct me.
2.8
For even if I should attain an unrivaled kingdom on earth, or more so, become a sovereign divinity in heaven, it would not dispel the sorrow that now paralyzes my senses.”
2.9
Sanjaya said:
Having spoke thus to Krishna, Lord of the Senses, Arjuna, conqueror of sleep and destroyer of foes, said, “I shall not fight,” then fell silent.
2.10
O Dhritarashtra, it was then that Lord Krishna, with a gentle smile, spoke these words to the despondent Arjuna as they stood poised between two armies of kinsmen.
2.11
Lord Krishna said:
You speak learned words, Arjuna, but you grieve for that which warrants no grief. The wise grieve neither for the living nor the dead.
2.12
There is no past in which I did not exist — nor you, nor any of these soldiers and kings — and there is no future in which we will cease to be.
2.13
Just as the Soul experiences infancy, youth, and old age in one body, so does it pass into another body when one dies. One who realizes he is the Soul, not the body, is undaunted by this.
2.14
Experiences of pain and happiness, hot and cold, are fleeting. They come and go like winter and summer. Accept them with courage, Son of Kunte, knowing they shall pass.
2.15
O Noblest of Men, that hero who remains steadfast and undisturbed by both joy and sorrow, he is one who can realize Liberation.
2.16
That which is unreal is ever changing and does not endure. That which is real neither changes nor ever is not. To those who perceive Truth, this is self-evident.
2.17
That which pervades All is indestructible. Nothing can destroy That Which Is.
2.18
It is the physical body only that perishes, not the eternal Soul that is You. Therefore, fight!
2.19
That which you truly are neither kills nor can it be killed. To believe otherwise is ignorance.
2.20
That which you truly are was never born, nor can it ever not be. You are eternal, immortal, primeval, everlasting. When the body dies, You are untouched, unmoved, unconcerned.
2.21
How can one who knows the Soul to be imperishable, eternal, immutable, unborn, believe that man has the power to kill or cause others to kill?
2.22
Just as a person discards old clothes and puts on new clothes, so does the Soul-Self leave spent bodies and enter fresh ones.
2.23
The Self cannot be pierced by weapons, burnt by fire, made wet by water, nor dried out by wind.
2.24
Self is unbreakable, incombustible, insoluble, all-pervading, timeless, ancient, immovable, eternal.
2.25
Self is unmanifest, unchanging, formless, imperishable. Knowing this about Self, why grieve for the body?
2.26
Even if you believe that Supreme Self is subject to birth and death, still there is no reason to grieve.
2.27
That which is born is certain to die, and that which has died will manifest as new life. Why lament the inevitable?
2.28
All beings arise from the unmanifested void, and for a short time they appear as manifested forms. Then they die and become again unmanifested. Where in this cycle is cause for grief?
2.29
Upon being instructed about Self, one person in three will be amazed, one will pretend to understand, and one will not even comprehend the teacher’s words. Rare is the one who has realized Self in his body. He knows It cannot be known.
2.30
The Soul that indwells all bodies is eternally indestructible. There is no reason to grieve the death of any earthly creature.
2.31
Besides, you are a warrior. It is your dharma. There is no higher calling for warriors than to fight a righteous war. To waver in the face of duty is unworthy, Arjuna.
2.32
Blessed are the warriors who are given such an opportunity! It is an open invitation to heaven!
2.33
If you refuse to fight, if you disregard your dharma and abandon your duty, you will bring upon yourself dishonor and great sin. You will be called a traitor,you’re your reputation as a warrior will dissolve into infamy.
2.34
Your people will tell stories to generations of children about the cowardice and disgrace of Arjuna. And to the once-honored, dishonor is worse than death.
2.35
The great generals who now hold you in such high esteem, will think you deserted the battle in fear, and will lose all respect and regard for you.
2.36
Your enemies will scorn your abilities, mock your cowardice, and in every way defame you. To a warrior, what could be worse than that?
2.37
If you are killed in this battle you will enter the kingdom of heaven. If you are victorious, you will enjoy a kingdom on earth. Arise and fight, Son of Kunte! You cannot lose!
2.38
Fight for the pure sake of fighting, without any regard for right or wrong, good or bad, loss or gain, victory or defeat. Do this and you will incur no sin!
2.39
Up until now I have been speaking to you with the yoga of knowledge. Listen then as I describe the yoga of action, through which you can break the bondage of action, and transcend karma.
2.40
On this path, effort is never wasted, lost or diminished, and adverse results are not possible. Even very little practice of this yoga releases the hold of fear and protects you from danger.
2.41
Those who walk this path are one-pointed in focus and resolute in purpose. The minds of the masses are irresolute, and stray onto many forking paths.
2.42
Men of small minds and superficial knowledge delight in using oratory to revere the scriptures, saying, “There is nothing higher than this!”
2.43
Guided by their own selfish desires, they glorify the portions of the scriptures that please them and construct their own heaven, then perform pompous rituals for attaining wealth, power, sensual pleasure, and elevation to heavenly realms. For such as these, rebirth is the only remedy.
2.44
With their minds ever bewildered by desire for pleasure and power, they have no capacity for the one-pointed determination necessary for Samadhi.
2.45
The Vedic scriptures deal mainly with the three forces of the material world. Go beyond these three gunas. Transcend the duality of opposites. Become free of fear, established in Truth and centered in Self.
2.46
A skilled theologian can twist any scripture to serve his narrow purpose. To one who has realized Brahman, the scriptures are like a pond in a flood.
2.47
You have the duty to work, Arjuna, but not the claim to any fruits that may result. Understand that your actions do not cause the results, but do not let this lead to inaction.
2.48
Perform your duties with grace and equanimity, without any attachment to success or aversion to failure. Such equipoise is the yoga of action.
2.49
Action performed with attachment is far inferior to action performed with equanimity of mind. Only petty misers work for reward.
2.50
One who routinely practices the yoga of work without attachment frees himself from karmic consequences in this life. Dedicate yourself to yoga, Arjuna. Yoga is the art of action!
2.51
Sages who engage in this practice, who release attachment to the fruits of action, become liberated from the cycle of birth and death, and transcend the bonds of illusion.
2.52
When consciousness becomes un-entangled from illusion, you become indifferent to all the philosophies you’ve heard, and un-curious about those you have not heard.
2.53
When consciousness, un-bewildered by scriptures, stands still in tune with the Infinite, this is Samadhi.
2.54
Arjuna said, “O Lord, how do we recognize a sage in this state? How does he look? How does he act? How does he sit and walk?”
2.55
Lord Krishna said:
When a man has surrendered all the desires of his heart and is established in Self alone, he is in the highest state.
2.56
One who is undisturbed by adversity, indifferent to happiness, unattached to outcomes, free of fear and anger — such a one is a sage of stable vision.
2.57
He who is not attached to any person or place, who is not delighted by good fortune nor dejected by tribulation, who does not praise good nor despise evil, he is surely immersed in the Infinite.
2.58
The sage who can withdraw his senses from the world of sense-objects as a tortoise withdraws his limbs into his shell, is surely deeply rooted in consciousness.
2.59
Sense-objects may fall away from the life of one who practices restraint and abstinence, but the taste for them remains until Truth is realized.
2.60
Indeed, Arjuna, the senses are so strong and impetuous they will forcibly carry away the mind of even the most dedicated practitioner of discrimination and restraint.
2.61
Yet one who is steadfast in practice, who takes control of his senses and meditates on Me, the Supreme — such a one shall come to realize the perfect state.
2.62
He who does not control his senses develops attachments to sense-objects. Attachment causes desire, and unfulfilled desire causes anger.
2.63
Anger distorts perception. False perception feeds delusion. Delusion causes loss of discernment and confusion of memory. When reason and intelligence flounder, one becomes lost again in the material quagmire, and falls inevitably into ruin.
2.64
But one who is self-controlled — who can move among sense-objects without attachment or aversion — is freed from anger and desire, and walks in divine tranquility.
2.65
For one who lives in divine consciousness, the threefold miseries of material existence no longer hold sway. In this happy state, true Intelligence is firmly established.
2.66
One who has not realized the divine Self has no connection to Intelligence. Peace and happiness are not possible.
2.67
For one whose thoughts follow in the wake of his senses, the mind is carried off like a rudderless boat in high wind.
2.68
Therefore, one whose senses have no attachment whatever to sense-objects, is surely a sage who sees clearly.
2.69
What others call the light, he sees to be dark ignorance. In the darkness others fear, he awakens to the Light.
2.70
Rivers flow endlessly into oceans, but the ocean, always full, barely notices. Desires, like rivers, flow endlessly into consciousness, but for one who pays them no mind, peace is undisturbed.
2.71
Truly, he who moves through the world without desire or ambition, who is free of pride and claims nothing as his own, he alone will find peace.
2.72
This is Self-Realization. One who realizes Truth never again falls into delusion. Even if Realization occurs at the last moment of life, that soul is taken into the arms of God.